SRTE safety engineer named safety professional of the year

Safety engineer Sonya Patton is a familiar sight around the Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE) facilities. Her hands-on approach to safety leadership keeps her out and about in the facilities, watching and guiding personnel toward safety excellence.

That approach produces results: As of this writing, SRTE has surpassed 4.4 million hours without an injury resulting in time away from work, and Sonya has been named the Safety Professional of the Year by the Augusta Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).

The award recognizes her expertise, her contributions to the safety profession, and her leadership in establishing, maintaining, and improving safety programs. She has served as a safety professional at the Savannah River Site since 1990, with another 10 years’ experience in the commercial nuclear industry prior to that. She is an active member and past president of the ASSE.

The ASSE, founded in 1911, is the nation’s oldest and largest professional safety organization. Its more than 32,000 members manage, supervise and consult on safety, health, and environmental issues in industry, insurance, government, and education.The Augusta Chapter, formed in 1983, has membership from 19 counties in Georgia and South Carolina.